Lahore collapse spectacularly around Junaid’s hat-trick

he third edition of the PSL began as inauspiciously for Lahore Qalandars as the first two, with Multan Sultans cruising to a 43-run win.

Chasing a daunting 180, Lahore began shakily, despite a cameo from Sunil Narine. Brendon McCullum, batting at No. 3, holed out to third man without scoring, off his fifth delivery. Fakhar Zaman kept them in the hunt with a terrific innings, smashing 49 runs off 30 balls, but a spectacular catch by Ahmed Shehzad turned the game. That triggered a monumental collapse, with Junaid Khan taking a hat-trick as Lahore lost their last seven wickets for just four runs to fold meekly for 136.

Multan, who had been put in to bat, got off to a flying start, in part due to Lahore’s sloppy start: six wides and four byes were conceded in the first five overs. Kumar Sangakkara was in the same sparkling form that carried his side to victory on Thursday, mixing classical Test shots with modern T20 hitting. Lahore were never quite able to drag Multan back, with Shehzad and Shoaib Malik also making valuable contributions as they racked up the highest score of the tournament so far. At one stage, it looked like they would need all of those runs, but a late Lahore implosion meant they simply boosted their net run-rate.

French prosecutors on Monday opened an investigation into alleged racial discrimination at soccer club Paris Saint Germain (PSG) after a news website reported the club's scouts had listed the ethnic origins of young recruits, a judicial source said.